>A while back I looked at how I would score on their "points based" immigration calculator thing. >It wasn't good at all.

So I take it you don't have a college degree or work in the software field like most people here.

It's true: if you have no skills and work as a barista or janitor, Japan isn't very interested in having you immigrate here. If you're a skilled tech professional, however, it's the easiest country in the world to immigrate to. Experienced software engineers can easily score 70-80 points. With 80, you can apply for permanent residence in 1 year.